The debate about Islam's identity in America

Edgar Hopida of the San Diego chaapter of the COuncin on American-Islamic Relations encouraged fellow Muslims to invite their non-Muslim neighbors to a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner to clear up misconceptions about Islam.
U-T file

Edgar Hopida of the San Diego chaapter of the COuncin on American-Islamic Relations encouraged fellow Muslims to invite their non-Muslim neighbors to a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner to clear up misconceptions about Islam.

Nine years ago today, the Sept. 11 attacks placed Muslims under intense scrutiny and challenged Americans to reconcile principles of religious freedom with fears about terrorism carried out in the name of Islam.

The debate about Islam’s place in America has been reignited by a threatened Koran-burning protest in Florida, tensions over the proposed mosque in lower Manhattan and milestones in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Pastor Terry Jones and his tiny church have canceled their plans to burn copies of the Koran, but not before it spawned violent protests in Afghanistan and worry about U.S. troops being targeted in retaliation.

Paul Aston of Santee, an industrial designer who saw combat as a Marine major in Iraq, said he sees a reluctance among Muslims to vigorously confront Islamic groups that promote holy war, restrict women’s rights and promote other controversial actions.

The criticism leveled at Jones is a positive “example of people taking someone to task within their own community,” said Aston, an evangelical Christian who believes it’s insensitive to build an Islamic worship center a few blocks from ground zero. “It would be nice to see something similar take place within Islam.”

Aston attends meetings of the local chapter of ACT! for America, a group whose proclaimed mission is to expose all facets of Islam.

“There’s been a cancer in Islam … Its biggest tumor were those two planes” that struck the World Trade Center in New York City, said Michael Hayutin, an investor who founded the chapter. “There are still large swathes of the Islamic community that won’t deal with it.”

On the eve of Sept. 11, President Barack Obama acknowledged an increase in suspicion of Islam during a news conference. He appealed for understanding, citing the service of Muslims in the U.S. armed forces.

“From a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It’s a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts and have killed Muslims more than anybody else,” the president said. “We’ve got millions of Muslim Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They’re going to school with our kids. They’re our neighbors. They’re our friends. They’re our co-workers. And when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?”

Amid the heightened sensitivities, one local advocate for improving relations with Muslims in America saw a golden opportunity to clear up misconceptions about Islam.

Edgar Hopida, public-relations director for the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, encouraged fellow Muslims to invite their non-Muslim neighbors to a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in La Jolla. He said about 50 people accepted the invitation to air their questions about Islam, and roughly half of them essentially had no knowledge of the religion.

“You got the common questions,” said Hopida, a second-generation Filipino-American who converted to Islam when he was a university student. “Does Islam teach people to kill people who are not Muslims? Are Muslims intolerant of other faiths?”